Letters
by Inscribbled
Summary: Azuma receives a letter in the mail and he isn't quite sure what to make of it. This takes place during Azuma's first college semester. T for suggestive nature. Rating may change with new chapters. 2/100 up!
1. Letters

_ Azuma,_

_I know you've only been gone a few weeks, but I __**hope you're enjoying yourself**__. It's been __**boring **__here without you. I've been playing a lot of compositions that remind me of __**all the fun we had during the competition**__. Lately I can't seem to put down my trumpet. I wish I could play for __**everyone**__, but I feel like these compositions are too precious for me to share with just anyone right now. Are you settled in? How's the school? Have you __**made any friends**__? What is it like over there?_

_Will you be coming back over the summer and holidays?_

_**Sincerely**__,  
__Kazuki_

Azuma quickly turned the paper over and placed it down on the pristine marble surface of his new coffee table. He took note of his shaking hands as he lifted a cup of tea to his lips, but couldn't imagine the cause for the tremors. The letter seemed normal enough to him.

Didn't it?

He placed the cup back down onto its saucer. It resonated with a mild _clang _and he winced uncomfortably at the sound. The apartment felt so empty. Azuma didn't need to lift his head to know that the apartment simply _was _empty. He hadn't bothered unpacking a single box. The furniture was arranged as it had been when he arrived. Delicate paintings lined the walls, but nothing hung from them. This way, he thought, it didn't have to feel so permanent.

Could this actually be permanent?

He turned the paper over to read its contents again. The sheet had smudges all over, as if a worn eraser had been taken to the page and wiped over it in various spots. Some of the words were blotched and clearly written over previous content. A sigh escaped his parted lips as his thoughts drifted to the possibilities of the previous content. He wasn't quite sure what he was expecting. Well, the letter had certainly been expected. The supposed content of said letter to come had remained a mystery in Azuma's waking dreams until now. He knew something was coming, but hadn't known what.

Kazuki sounded like his pleasant, cheerful self. But was there something else there?

There was always that possibility. The possibility that Kazuki had hit it off with Kahoko after Azuma had left. He realized this. He was almost certain that Kazuki would opt this information out, as well. These types of secrets were kept before, so why not now?

When did it become difficult to be honest with each other?

Azuma shook his head and turned the letter over once more. He would write back eventually. Something vague, something warm. Something Kazuki would expect from his friend. When he could bring himself to write a letter filled with his own secrets, he would.

* * *

_Dear Azuma,_

Kazuki quickly scribbled out the word "Dear" until it looked as though it were just a stain on the paper. He rubbed his forehead, brushing back his bangs until they were let loose again, falling into place as his hand drifted down toward the letter in progress.

_I know you've only been gone a few weeks, but I miss you more than you'd think._

Letting out a soft hiss through gritted teeth, Kazuki went to work to erase his feelings – mistakes, he considered them – once again. He shook his head all the while, a frown permanently set onto his otherwise flawless features. Once the pink pearl eraser had done its job, he quickly corrected himself.

_It's been lonely__here without you._

He dropped his pencil to the table. This was not working out at all the way he had planned it. With an exasperated sigh, he lifted the pencil back into his grasp and worked to alter his letter once again.

_I've been playing a lot of compositions that remind me of how much I enjoyed our time spent together._

The mistakes were conscious ones at this point, but he couldn't stop himself. It was as if writing out this real letter relieved the tightness in his chest. The only problem was erasing it; that just brought it all back. Kazuki pursed his quavering lips and wrote on.

_Lately I can't seem to put down my trumpet. I wish I could play for you, _

He bit down on his tongue, as if to stop himself from shouting out loud. "This won't even make sense..." He mumbled softly to himself as he made the necessary corrections and wrote on.

_but I feel like these compositions are too precious for me to share with just anyone right now. Are you settled in? How's the school? Have you met anyone special?_

This time he bit down on his lip, chewing on it as if he were chewing on his own words. This question seemed too obvious to him. Maybe it wasn't as obvious as he thought. But it seemed to be. He quickly altered the question and added in another to cover it up.

_What is it like over there?_

_  
_

_Truly yours,  
__Kazuki_

The young musician sat back into his cozy armchair, his eyes boring into the sheet of paper. He knew the conclusion was just a play on a traditional 'yours truly', but it seemed so fitting to him. Too fitting. Something he obviously couldn't leave in. He held his breath as he took his eraser to the page one final time and corrected himself. He read it over, his frown defined even further as he noted all the smudge marks. He hoped Azuma wouldn't care.

"But what does it matter if he's never coming back..?" Kazuki asked himself in an almost timid tone. He tried to smile, but the expression wouldn't come to him. Mulling this over, he quickly added in:

_Will you be coming back over the summer and holidays?_

He bit at his lip as he folded the paper into three even parts and slid it into an envelope.

* * *

Notes: This story is going to be one out of one hundred, hopefully. I may not post them all on because it's such a pain to get them posted. If I see people are actually reading them here, then maybe I will. If not, I'll just confine them to my journal.

Disclaimer: Oh God. Can I own them? ...No? .. Bah. Alright. I don't.


	2. I've Been Thinking

**Title: **I've Been Thinking

**Characters/Pairing: **Kahoko, Len/Ryotaro

**Summary: **Kahoko is concerned about Kazuki's sudden absence from her life. Len and Ryotaro take the time to listen. ...Sort of.

**Notes: **This is part 2/100 of my Azuma/Kazuki fics. While it doesn't directly involve the pair, it takes place right around the time of the first fic. Lastly, I really hate uploading here because editing and getting a chapter just right is such a pain, so I hope someone out there is reading!

The park was bustling with activity: children playing in the small playground set aside specifically for their entertainment and their parents' relief; joggers passing by on the track surrounding the grassy field reserved for soccer games and the like; the eager midfielders attempting to take advantage of any opening left by the fullbacks as they battled relentlessly for the soccer ball in the large field. The wind blew gently in a north-easterly direction. Len noticed the breeze in particular as his fine locks brushed against his lashes every minute or so. The sensation was purely annoying, but the young violinist chose to endure it to maintain composure. His hair was growing quickly and he had neglected it over the past few weeks; so much so that he could nearly tuck his bangs behind his ear. Not quite. He mulled over this thought a moment longer. It wasn't his usual self, neglecting minor details such as a haircut. Keeping up appearances was, of course, a priority – a priority Len Tsukimori rarely forewent. As of late, however, his mind had been preoccupied.

On the park bench beside him, Kahoko sat, hunched forward with her elbows on her knees. A rather unsightly posture, in Len's opinion, but the soft spot his heart held for the girl supported his ignorance of her ungraceful actions. He only noticed out of the corner of his eye, anyhow. His gaze was set upon the soccer field, scanning the players with eager yet unnoticeable awareness. Len was conservative in his observations, the look on his face as detached as always. In this sense, he could honestly admit that he was looking for no one in particular. This was how he preferred it.

"...and I just don't—" Kahoko ripped her gaze from the ground to Len, eyeing him speculatively. Her chin was perched comfortably in her palms, a position she obviously felt was unnecessary to modify. Her lips took on the slightest frown before twisting into a pleasant smile as she spoke, "You seem awfully distracted, Tsukimori-kun. Am I interrupting something?" Her gaze drifted to the violin case in his lap and then back to him as he shook his head slowly.

"No," He said. Short and sweet. It was true that he had arrived at the park bench before her. The playing of his violin, however, had never occurred. The truth was that Len had let slip his emotions once or twice in the last few weeks, so he was hardly surprised to see her gushing at his feet. It was his own fault for withdrawing his stoic appearance in favour of a softer one, but he found he couldn't help himself.

Resting both hands on his violin case, he sat back against the bench, stretching his legs out into a slightly more relaxed pose, although they were still crossed. The prodigal violinist tilted his head back – a slight motion – but managed to keep his gaze upon the field. "So Hihara has been holed up in his room, and this concerns you," He stated, providing Kahoko with an opening to continue. She nodded her head slowly, and then tore her gaze from him and set it upon the ground once more.

"Well, I haven't seen him in days," She let slip a sigh of frustration through gritted teeth, her face contorted – from what Len could see from his disinterested glance in her direction – with concern. "It just isn't like him, to keep to himself like that."

Len swallowed on this bit of information. He disagreed with Kahoko, but couldn't say with certainty that his opinion was correct or even justified. It was plausible that Kahoko knew Kazuki Hihara much better than he. It wasn't as if he hung around the boy much, especially now that Hihara was off to the Seiso College. Len couldn't remember when he had last spent time around Hihara, let alone thought of him. Probably back when they had played together. He frowned in thought, watching the midfielders as they bolted around the field in defence of their team or offense toward the opposition. In Len's opinion, Hihara was loud, a bit obnoxious, but he only meant well. He didn't dislike him. He was simply indifferent toward him, as he was to most. Regardless of his indifference, he was sure of one aspect of the situation that Kahoko had probably not thought about, or had avoided thinking about; it was barely a month into the new school year and Azuma Yunoki had left shortly before to begin his College education in another country. Hadn't Hihara's appearance halted right around the time Yunoki left? Of this, Len was sure, as he had distinctly remembered the absence of both around the same time. He had often seen both Yunoki and Hihara at the park with Kahoko when he passed by, Hihara speaking animatedly with Kahoko while Yunoki sat back and smiled, watching them and offering the occasional chuckle. He remembered vaguely stopping to watch them once or twice while waiting for someone, but recalled nothing specific during any of his observations. These meetings had stopped, and he had often seen Kahoko sitting at the park bench on her own after the fact.

"It's like he's in a whole different world," Kahoko mused, abruptly snapping Len out of his thoughts. Before the violinist had a chance to say anything, the bench creaked and shifted as a tall figure sat beside Kahoko, opposite of Len who immediately sat up from his slouch.

Ryotaro landed his palm on Kahoko's head with a thud, patting it twice and offering her a smile that looked more like a careless grin. He glanced at Len and quickly rolled his eyes.

"Is this about Hihara again?" Ryotaro's back thumped against the park bench as he stretched. He lifted the towel wrapped around his neck and wiped the sweat from his brow, simultaneously catching the droplets falling from his hair. Len watched with a casual look in his bright eyes. Kahoko didn't notice, but the wry grin formed on her thinned lips indicated that she had heard what the boy had said. She gave a single, quick nod. Len arched his brow, his curiosity piqued. Clearly, he wasn't the first to hear about this. It didn't bother him that Kahoko had chosen others to confide in before him. Not in the slightest. The curious look was directed toward Ryotaro who, although he had not been looking directly at Len, shrugged in response. The violinist lowered his raised brow; that story he would hear another day then, he supposed.

"I've just been thinking..." Kahoko began, pausing dramatically. Ryotaro was watching him now, Len could tell. Deciding that Kahoko was too absorbed in her own woes to regard either of them, Len relaxed against the bench, his lips forming into the slightest of smiles. Ryotaro's eyes were alight upon recognition of Len's carefree look. The soccer player seemed rather smug with himself.

"Maybe it has something to do with Yunoki," She finally concluded. Len spared her a glance, both of his brows rising in an attempt to express, 'oh really?' But of course, he hadn't wished for Kahoko to see this. Nor had she. As his expression relaxed, he finally attempted futilely to tuck his hair behind his ears. This action hadn't been a conscious one; more so induced by his relaxed state of mind. He hadn't even realized he'd done it. When the locks fell back into place, he frowned and glanced up at them. Ryotaro allowed a soft chuckle to escape his lips, causing Kahoko to finally lift her head. She looked first to Ryotaro, giving Len enough time to compose himself and mouth a few words. Ryotaro had obviously caught this, as his chuckle turned into a full, boisterous laugh. Kahoko arched her brow before turning her head to the violinist. She looked as if she was going to inquire as to what they had been doing, but Ryotaro quickly patted her on the head once more. A soft sigh escaped Len's lips before Ryotaro spoke.

"Maybe you're right."

Kahoko nodded solemnly in response, but Len wasn't certain the comment had been directed toward her. Oh well, he would find out later.


End file.
